NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Tellabs reported that fourth-quarter 2003 revenue rose 14% to $279 million from $245 million in the third quarter, marking the fourth increase in sequential revenue in the past five quarters. Tellabs International generated 40% of the quarter's overall revenue.

Tellabs recorded a net loss of $23 million or 6 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2003. Excluding previously announced restructuring charges of $44 million, Tellabs earned 3 cents a share or $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.

"I'm encouraged by the improving industry environment, and Tellabs continues to make progress toward profitable growth," said Michael J. Birck, Tellabs chairman and chief executive officer. "Our goals for the year 2004 are to achieve revenue growth and attain operating profitability, and we see a clear path forward to these goals."

For the year 2003, Tellabs revenue totaled $980 million. The company recorded a net loss of $242 million or 58 cents per share. Excluding the after-tax impact of restructuring and other charges of $161 million, Tellabs lost $80 million or 19 cents per share for the year 2003.

Optical Networking -- Sales of optical networking systems, which include Tellabs' strategic North American products, were $117 million, up 11% from the third quarter. About 2% of Tellabs' overall revenue came from new products in North America. Tellabs maintained its market-leading position in the U.S. bandwidth management market, according to third-quarter 2003 data from industry analyst RHK.

Next-Gen SDH and Managed Access Services -- Sales of next-generation SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy, the international transport format for digital information over optical networks) and managed access systems totaled $74 million, up from $70 million in the third quarter. About 6% of Tellabs overall revenue came from new products in international markets; sales of these new products surged 48% to $16 million from $11 million in the third quarter. This increase came largely on the strength of the Tellabs(R) 6350 switch node, for which the company has now received more than 300 orders. Among customer wins announced in the quarter were T-Mobile, Vodaphone, Embratel, and Beijing Zhetong for the Beijing Olympics.

Other Products -- Voice-quality enhancement, telephony distribution solutions, data and other revenue amounted to $51 million, up 65% from $31 million in the third quarter. Most of this revenue reflected a surge in demand for the Tellabs(R) 2300 telephony distribution system and the Tellabs(R) 3000 series of voice-quality enhancement products, which are generating interest among customers who are deploying voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Services -- Services revenue was $37 million, basically flat with $39 million in the third quarter.

Tellabs Inc.